Because You're You
by Peachable
Summary: NiouxOC. Because of a prank, Niou is punished. He somehow finds himself asking Souki Himitsu for help. She agrees to help -but under one condition. As they spend time together, unexpected feelings develop. The most unlikely couple.
1. One: The Prank

**A/N: NiouxOC sounds like a fun fic to write…So, here I am…writing a NiouxOC fic! :D Likewise with my "A 'Not So Classic' Love Song" fic, they're not in Junior high, they're in SENIOR high. Right, I shall start writing my first chapter! :D**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I always forget to write my disclaimers. I DO NOT OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS.**

* * *

**Chapter One: The Prank.**

* * *

"As most of you all know, summer break is approaching. The Ministry of Education of the Kanagawa region will come and inspect our school, Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku." The principal of RikkaiDai announced. "I expect everyone to be on their best behavior, dressing in correct uniform as always, and being polite. Make me proud. The assembly shall conclude here. Please go to your first period classes."

As the students of RikkaiDai filed out their assembly hall, a certain silver-haired boy smirked.

"Puri." He said smugly.

"Niou, what are you planning this time?" Marui, the red-headed self-proclaimed tensai asked from behind.

"Let's just say…the people from the Ministry are going to get a little surprise." Niou replied with an evil grin.

* * *

"Hey, did you see the posters around school? It says that it's free dress day next Tuesday!"

"I got a flyer."

"Free dress day? We can wear our own clothes? Awesome!"

"But, isn't next Tuesday the day the Ministry of Education people are visiting our school?"

"Who cares. The school planned it, must be a clash in dates but that's not our problem!"

The corridors were buzzing with talks about the mufti day that was coming up. Girls were already talking about what to wear and boys couldn't wait to show off their new belts or something.

* * *

"Niou, don't tell me you did it." Yagyuu asked his teammate in the cafeteria while waiting for their other teammates to arrive.

"And what if I did?" Niou replied.

"It's a very serious matter, the visit from the Ministry. If you get caught –"

"The trickster of RikkaiDai _never_ gets caught." Niou interrupted.

"The consequences you will have to suffer are severe. You could put our whole tennis team on the line." Yagyuu continued.

"Sanada won't be happy if he finds out. Mura-buchou won't be impressed either." Marui stated, popping his gum.

"I repeat once more. The trickster of RikkaiDai _never_ gets caught." Niou said shrugging wearily.

Yagyuu shook his head and stopped trying to make Niou take off the posters. Niou heard his sigh and put an arm around his teammate's shoulder.

"You need to relax Hiroshi. Here, have some sushi. I made it myself." Niou said thrusting his bento box in Yagyuu's face. Yagyuu's expression immediately became sharp.

"Get. That. Away. From. Me." He said through gritted teeth. He was not going to open his mouth.

* * *

"NIOU."

"Yes, Sanada?"

"Take the posters off. And destroy all the flyers." Sanada ordered sternly, furious. "If it's not done by tomorrow, you're out of the tennis team."

Niou wanted to argue his case but seeing as his position on the tennis team was on the line, he threw his hands up, surrendering.

"I get it, I get it. They'll be gone, pronto."

"They better be."

* * *

"Well, well, well. The person who played the trick himself is wearing uniform." Marui teased when he met Niou at the school gate the following Tuesday morning.

"Marui, Sanada made us promise to wear uniform, remember?" Niou replied, tapping Marui on the head.

"Oh yeah."

The corridors of RikkaiDai were filled with students –wearing their own clothes instead of school uniform.

"I can't believe how many people fell for it!" Niou sniggered.

"Yeah, looks like we're the only people wearing uniform." Yukimura said, walking towards Marui and Niou with Sanada, Kirihara, Jackal, Yagyuu and Renji following closely behind him.

Sanada shot Niou a menacing glare and Niou stepped back.

"Whoa Sanada. I took off all the posters and destroyed all the flyers like you told me to." Niou told Sanada matter-of-factly. "It was their own choice whether to believe the posters and flyers or not. I can't exactly tell them what to do, can I?" Niou added innocently.

Before Sanada could say anything, a flock of girls came stampeding toward the Rikkai tennis regulars.

"KYAAAAAA NIOU-SAMA! DO YOU LIKE MY SHIRT?" A girl screamed.

"MARUI-SAMA! WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MY MINISKIRT? IT'S THE SAME COLOR AS YOUR HAIR!" Another girl screamed.

Marui mentally barfed. "I'm sure my hair doesn't blind people like your skirt does." He said through gritted teeth.

"YUKIMURA-SAMA. WHY AREN'T YOU WEARING YOUR OWN CLOTHES? WE'VE BEEN WAITING A WHOLE WEEK TO SEE WHAT YOU NORMALLY WEAR!" A Yukimura fangirl demanded.

Yukimura said nothing but simply smiled gracefully.

"OH MY GOODNESS. HE SMILED AT ME!"

"NO! HE SMILED AT ME (BLEEP)!"

The girls were now edging closer and closer to the tennis regulars. The tennis regulars inched back until they were all squashed up to the line of lockers and they could back up no longer. The girls now encircled the regulars, trapping them.

"SANADA-SAMA WHY DO YOU NEVER SMILE?" A girl wailed.

"KIRIHARA-SAMA! I DYED MY HAIR FROM BLONDE TO BLACK JUST SO IT COULD BE THE SAME COLOR AS YOUR HAIR! DO YOU THINK IT SUITS ME?"

"Senpais, we _need_ to get out of here!" Poor Akaya whispered warningly to his teammates.

"What do you take us as? Idiots?" Niou hissed back to Akaya.

"Everyone, on the count of three, run out between the girl with the blinding skirt and Akaya-colored hair. Split up and run in the direction most convenient for you. The chances of us surviving using this method is 78.9 percent." Renji whispered to his teammates. "One, two, three!"

The regulars sprinted as fast as they could, parting the group of fangirls in the middle. Yukimura and Sanada went in one direction, Niou and Marui went in another direction. Yagyuu and Renji went into hiding in an unused classroom. Akaya hid behind Jackal because Jackal was tall enough to block him out of sight and Jackal didn't exactly need to run away (poor Jackal not having any fangirls. In this case, he's lucky!).

* * *

Niou gagged when he reached safety.

"The smell of perfume was way to pungent! My nose is stinging like hell!"

Marui rubbed his eyes.

"That girl killed my hair color _and_ my eyes!"

"Well, we're out of there now. Phew." Niou said breathing a sigh of relief. They were now on the third floor of the building. The same buzz of excited students wearing mufti travelled through the corridor but one student caught Marui's eye.

"Oi Niou, look over there. That girl with black hair at her locker."

"Why? Is she the one that dyed her hair the same color as Brat's? Should we be running?" Niou replied jokingly, not even looking in the direction Marui was motioning to.

"Yes. She is." Marui said sarcastically. "No, Niou, just LOOK."

With a sigh, Niou turned his head. "What's to look at? It's a girl, Marui, it's not like we've never seen one before."

Marui rolled his eyes. "She's WEARING UNIFORM." He pointed out impatiently.

"She is?" Niou said, surprised. Niou look at the girl properly for the first time. "I wonder why she isn't wearing mufti."

Niou walked towards the girl and Marui followed.

"Souki Himitsu." Niou said and the girl turned around to face him.

"Niou Masaharu." She said with a blank expression.

"You're in my class right?" Niou asked.

"I've been in your class for the last five years." Himistsu replied flatly, her face still expressionless.

Niou lifted an eyebrow.

"How…nice." He finally managed to say.

"Marui Bunta." Marui suddenly piped up, making Niou look at him. "Fine, I won't say anything."

"So, Himitsu-chan, why aren't you in your own clothes? Why school uniform?"

Himitsu's expression didn't change once from when Niou first went over until now.

"I have a thing called a management diary. Unfortunately, the Ministry of Education visit clashes with the so called 'mufti day'. Which do I choose?" Himitsu answered in a breezy voice but her face was still expressionless.

"I don't fall for pranks, Niou-kun." Himitsu said as she locked up her locker and walked off in the opposite direction.

Niou leaned against Himitsu's locker and watched her walk off. He let out a soft, high-pitched whistle.

"Talk about attitude!" Niou said blinking in disbelief.

"Were my ears deceiving me, or did that Souki Himitsu girl just talk back to you?" Marui said in wonder as he rubbed his ears. "Wait 'til I tell Akaya!"

Niou looked at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Marui, you heard and saw nothing. Got that?" Niou threated half-heartedly.

Marui popped his gum. "Why? What're you gonna do to me?"

Niou's eyes glinted they way they always did when he thought of a good prank. "I'll make some sushi _especially for you_." Niou said acidly.

"I saw and heard, _absolutely nothing_." Marui said backing away.

"Good."

* * *

"What is the meaning of this Yoshizawa-san?" The head of the Ministry of Education questioned the principal of RikkaiDai. "Why are the students dressed in their own clothes? I did _not_ expect this of a first rate school!"

"I don't know what happened either! Today all the students came to school dressed up like, like this!" The principal said gesturing out the window, looking flushed.

"Perhaps," the head of the Ministry said coldly. "Today was not a good day to come and visit?"

"It can be assured that this will never happen again! Whoever did this will be caught and punished! Do come back another time!" Yoshizawa Tsutomu (principal) said pleadingly.

"We will have to see if we can fit RikkaiDai in our already busy schedule. You will be contacted. Our visit ends here." The head of the Ministry replied in the same cold tone as he lead his colleagues out the door.

As soon as the people from the Ministry of Education were out of earshot and out of sight, Yoshizawa called his secretary.

"Find the person who told everyone not to wear uniform and send them to my office, _immediately_." Yoshizawa ordered through the telephone.

"Hai. I will send the person to your office as soon as I find out."

* * *

**A/N: This is a short first chapter. Tell me what you guys think! Gimme feedback! I think I made some of the regulars slightly OOC?  
**

**Anyways, answer me one question:** ** Would you guys prefer a happy ending or a sad ending? **

**I need to know what kind of ending is favorable because I need to…I JUST NEED TO KNOW AS AN AUTHOR OKAY? LOL! Um, yeah. Whether the ending is a happily-ever-after one or a sad one depends on what the majority of readers want. SO PLEASE TELL ME IN YOUR REVIEW ONEGAISHIMASU! :D**

**~Yuu.**


	2. Two: The Punishment

**A/N: So far, three people have reviewed saying they want a happy ending…sooooo, so far this story is leaning towards a happy ending! **

**Thanks to everyone that reviewed! Hope you guys keep reading nyah**

**WARNING: Contains religious(Christian) themes. Nothing bad about it of course, except Himitsu-chan is the daughter of the local church's Reverend. Inspired by 'A Walk to Remember'. (:  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RikkaiDai. I mean, I don't own PoT.**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Punishment.**

* * *

"Looks like the prank went pretty well." Niou said lazily.

"You're gonna get busted Niou." Yagyuu said sounding serious. "The principal has got all the school staff tracking you down."

"Hiroshi, the –" Niou started.

"_Trickster of RikkaiDai never gets caught._" Yagyuu finished. "I know, but –"

"According to my calculations, you are 89.76 percent likely to be caught this time." Yanagi interrupted.

"Guys," Niou said, exasperated.

"Face it Niou, the prank you pulled this time was too big for the occasion." Yanagi pointed out matter-of-factly.

* * *

"Niou-san, please report to the principal's office." The principal's secretary said as she peeped into Niou's classroom.

Niou looked at his chemistry teacher and the teacher gave him a nod, signaling that he could follow the secretary. Niou stood up and walked to the door. The secretary led the way to the principal's office. Niou glanced at the secretary and saw that she had a grim expression.

_I guess they've caught me._ Niou thought as he prepared himself for a big telling off from the principal.

"Through here please Niou-san." The secretary prompted.

Niou stepped into the principal's office. The principal was sitting on a big office chair behind his desk busy doing some paper work and behind is chair was a wide window, overlooking the entrance and front court of the school. The secretary left the room and closed the door.

"Yoshizawa-sensei," Niou addressed.

The principal looked up from his papers and nodded at Niou.

"Niou-san, take a seat."

Niou sat down.

"Niou-san, do you know why you've been called here?" The principal said sternly.

"Would it be something to do with a prank?" Niou said trying to sound as unsuspicious as possible.

"Spot on, Niou-san." The principal said, his expression still stern. "Niou-san, were you aware that when you pulled this prank, the whole reputation of RikkaiDai was at stake? Luckily, the Ministry of Education has overlooked our supposed 'clash in dates caused by poor planning' and has agreed to visit again next term."

"That's fantastic Yoshizawa-sensei. Congratulations!" Niou said, relieved.

"Don't be so happy just yet. You're still not left off the hook." The principal started. "As punishment, the boys' tennis club will be disband."

Niou's face went white and his jaw dropped.

_Mura-Buchou and Sanada are going to KILL me._

Seeing his expression, the principal's facial expression changed.

"Gotcha." The principal said, breaking into a smile. "I was a trickster too, back in my days."

Niou's jaw clamped shut and he let out a sigh of relief. "That wasn't funny sensei."

"Anywho, back to the topic of the punishment." The principal said, resuming his stern expression, "Aside from your usual schoolwork and extracurricular activities, you shall assist with school events and you're will help out with the school janitorial work."

"JANITORIAL?" Niou said in alarm.

"That's not all, Niou-san. Wait for me to finish." The principal smiled. "This is the best part. You will perform in the upcoming school play to be presented in the middle of next term."

"You have GOT to be sh-" Niou started, jaw dropping once again.

"Language!" The principal grunted.

"You've got to be kidding me." Niou finally said.

"No, I'm not."

* * *

Akaya was clutching his stomach which was sore from laughing.

"You? In the school play?" Akaya said, tears in his eyes from laughing too much. "!"

"Shut it, brat." Niou said in annoyance, not at all impressed with his teammate's dramatic reaction. "At least I can act!"

_Is it really that funny?_ Niou thought to himself.

"Well, at least the tennis club is safe and you can still practice with us right?" Marui said optimistically.

"Marui, can you stop being so happy about me helping with the school's janitorial work?" Niou asked flatly.

"Just be thankful I'm not laughing my arse off like Akaya is." Marui replied popping a bubble.

Niou looked at his other teammates for support but Yagyuu, Renji, Sanada and Jackal's faces were all as blank as a clean sheet of paper and Yukimura was just smiling like he always did.

"Thanks for all your support guys." Niou remarked sarcastically.

"It's a pleasure, Niou." Yukimura replied elegantly, still smiling.

* * *

After dinner, when his younger brother went to his room to do homework, Niou told his mother about his punishment.

"Well I think it's pretty fair." Niou's mother commented.

"Janitorial." Niou told her, "_Janitorial_. You're just going to let the principal make your _son_ help out with _janitorial work_?"

"What's wrong with that?" Niou's mother replied casually. "Some people make a living out of it you know? What are you being punished for anyway?"

So, Niou told his mother about the prank he pulled.

"Masaharu, maybe I should call your father."

"No!" Niou immediately objected.

"You could go live with him for a while. Change of scenery, keep you out of trouble." Niou's mother told him informatively.

"I'm not going to live with _him._" Niou spat.

"Masaharu, he is your father." Niou's mother stated matter-of-factly.

"Sending us a cheque every month does _not_ make him my father." Niou said as he stood up. "I'm going to my room."

Niou's mother sighed as she carried on washing the dishes.

* * *

"'Mom, why do we have to go to church?" Niou asked his mother sleepily on Sunday morning.

"Don't ask stupid questions, Masaharu. HATSUHARU! HURRY UP! Masaharu, go and see if your brother needs help." Niou's mother commanded.

"Help with what? Putting on his underwear?" Niou snorted and his mother glared at him. "Alright, alright, but can I just point out that he's _thirteen_ and more than capable of putting on hi–"

"Masaharu, just go!"

"YES MA'AM! BUT WHY DOESN'T NEE-CHAN HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH?"

"BECAUSE SHE'S 21 AND NOT LIVING WITH US ANYMORE."

* * *

"To conclude this morning's sermon, the choir would like to share with us a song." The Reverend said as he departed from the pulpit.

Niou rolled his eyes. He hated church day, it was always so boring. He had no idea why his mother always went to church.

The choir stood up from beside the pulpit, where they were sitting. Niou saw a familiar face among the choir members. It was the girl that had talked back to him at school, Souki Himitsu.

"_Let the light,  
From the lighthouse,  
Let it shine on me,  
I wonder,  
I wonder if the light,  
From the lighthouse,  
Would shine,"_

Himitsu spotted Niou from where she was standing and their eyes locked. Niou looked away and yawned but Himitsu fixed her green eyes on him. Niou sneaked a peak and when he saw that she was no longer focused on him, looked back at Himitsu. Somehow, she gave off a different aura than the day he has first talked to her. Her face was no longer expressionless, she was smiling as she sang and it was different just seeing her in the white choir robe instead of school uniform.

_Still, this is church and it's still boring._ Niou thought to himself as he yawned and looked away from Himitsu.

"_Would it shine?  
Would it shine on me?"_

Then it was time for Himitsu's solo.

"_Here is my thought,  
This is my plea,  
Lord let your holy light shine on me.  
I wonder will you,"_

Himitsu rested her eyes on Niou.

"_Hear my prayer.  
I know I'm not worthy but need your help.  
Lord shine your light,  
Shine it this way."_

Niou fidgeted in his seat.

_Boringggg._ Was the thought that ran through his mind. Himitsu carried on with her solo.

"_Shine it so I can see which way to take.  
I have faith in You, to bring me through,  
I have one question,"_

And the rest of the choir started to sing again.

"Doesn't that girl have a brilliant voice?" An old lady behind Niou whispered to her husband. Niou rolled his eyes.

_Yeah, brilliant voice, brilliant voice to make me fall sleep!_ He thought to himself.

"Listen, mom, I gotta dash to tennis practice. See you at dinner." Niou whispered to his mother beside him then, without attracting too much attention, slipped out of the chapel.

Outside, Niou stuck the earphones of his iPod in his ear and bobbed his head to the rhythm as he walked to the bus stop to catch a ride home so he could get his tennis gear.

* * *

"How was church?" Marui asked popping a bubble.

"Boring, as usual." Niou replied. "Do you always have to ask the same question on Sunday practice?"

"YES. HE DOES!" Akaya interrupted.

"Oi, brat. How 'bout a game?" Niou asked.

"How about…." Akaya started. "OKAY!"

Niou sweat-droppped. "Get your racquet then."

* * *

When the day's practice was done, Niou walked to the bus stop and waited for his bus. Ten minutes later, the bus came and Niou hopped on. The bus was packed with people as it was rush hour. The first empty seat that Niou spotted was beside a girl with black hair who was looking out the window.

_Nope, I am not going to sit next to Souki Himitsu on the bus._ He told himself sternly but there were no more empty seats and he would look weird if he stood up. Slowly, he made his way toward the empty seat next to Himitsu.

He sat down beside Himitsu but she didn't turn around. Niou stuck the earphones of his iPod in his ears and his loud music blared out. Himitsu's head spun around.

"You're going to make yourself deaf." She told Niou but Niou paid no attention as he couldn't hear a word she was saying. Niou continued to bob his head to the rhythm of the music. This made Himitsu talk even louder.

"Niou-kun, would you mind turning the volume down?"

Niou pulled an earphone out of his ear and turned towards Himitsu.

"Ah, Himitsu-chan, didn't see you there." He lied. He looked at Himitsu properly for the first time since he got onto the bus. Himitsu was wearing the most old-fashioned dress he had ever seen and her sweater was a moss green color, something that his grandmother would wear. On Himitsu's lap was a Bible.

"You just left church?" Niou asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Choir practice." Himitsu replied.

"Oh, okay. I was gonna say. Who would stay at church that long?" Niou scorned.

"Actually, my father doesn't come home from the church until late." Himitsu replied matter-of-factly.

Niou blinked at her.

"He's the reverend."

"Oh." Niou said, then cleared his throat. "That explains a lot." Niou said, eyeing Himitsu's choice of clothing.

"You shouldn't've pulled that prank you know." Himitsu told Niou. "Our school's reputation has dropped."

"And how would you know that?" Niou replied carelessly.

"I'm in the student council."

"You can't tell me what to do. If I want to pull a prank, I'll pull one." Niou said, he was starting to get irritated.

"Well you should at least think about the consequences before you act." Himitsu retorted.

"Is this your idea of small talk?" Niou asked heatedly. "Because if it is, your social skills need some work. Look, everyone in school made their own decision to wear their own clothes instead of uniform. I didn't force them. I even took off the posters the _same day_ I posted them up. It's not my problem."

"It's called peer pressure. Their friends were all talking about it and the girls all wanted to dress up to impress yo –" Himitsu got cut off.

"And how would you know about that? You, reading your precious book." Niou said, looking at the Bible in Himitsu's lap. Himitsu drew in a sharp breath and her hands flew to the Bible. "And your taste in clothing, no wonder you didn't wear mufti." Niou carried on, then paused. There was a silence between them. Finally, Himistu spoke up.

"Please don't talk about me like you know me, okay?" Himitsu said quietly.

Niou laughed. "But I do. I do. We've been in the same classes and the same school since junior high." Niou said. "You're Souki Himitsu. You sit at lunch table seven, which isn't exactly the reject table but it's definitely not in the popular territory. You have exactly _one_ sweater, which is the one to wear _every_ Sunday to church and you like to look at your feet when you walk." Then he carried on, "Oh yeah, and for fun you like sing in the church choir and read the books on stars and planets in the library and hang out with the "cool" kids in the drama studio. Now, what do you say about that?"

Himitsu blinked.

"Thoroughly predictable. Nothing that I haven't heard before." She replied with a small nod.

"You don't care what others think about you?" Niou asked with a confused look on his face.

"No." Himitsu replied breezily. The bus came to a stop and Himitsu got up. "Excuse me, but I have to get off now." Himitsu told Niou and Niou shifted in his seat to let Himitsu out.

Himitsu got off the bus and started walking, clutching the Bible in front of her chest and looking at her feet.

"Pfft." Niou snorted as he watched Himitsu disappear as the bus continued to drive on.

* * *

**A/N: Niou's bother's name, Hatsuharu was taken from Greenberry Rhythm's fic called "May 11****th****". Because I was lazy and couldn't think of a name.**

**I'm tired. I'm sorry this chapter is so bad and rushed.**

**Oh and I might not be updating after next week since I'll be going to Japan for my break. I'll be too busy shopping and eating in Japan to write XD LOL**

**Please review!**

**~Yuu.**


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